The Old Milestone by the B6258, Chorley Road,
in Walton-le-Dale
I have moaned about this one before, but that won’t stop me moaning about it again…
Now that I have seen this old photograph, courtesy of the Preston Digital Archive, I can see just how buried it is. Ridiculous!
The photograph, courtesy of the Preston Digital Archive, is taken looking down Chorley Road Hill (now known locally as Cinnamon Hill) towards the River Darwen. The Milestone is still there in the same spot. However, the relative height position has remained unchanged since it was first placed there, and the rest of the road infrastructure has been raised considerably over the years. I would estimate somewhere in the region of 18 inches (about 45 to 50cm – half a metre).
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Old Milestone by the B6258, Chorley Road, Walton-le-Dale
Metal plate attached to stone post by the B6258 (formerly A6), in parish of Bamber Bridge (South Ribble District), Walton le Dale, B6230 junction, against wall, on East side of road.
Preston wedge, erected by the Wigan & Preston (north of Yarrow) turnpike trust in the 19th century.
Inscription reads:
: TO / CHORLEY / 7 / MILES : : TO / PRESTON / 2 / MILES :
There is a pivot benchmark on top. These benchmarks, of which there are only a few remaining in the area, were used by the Ordnance Survey as a height reference point.
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In relative terms, this is the one that is on my doorstep. However, it disappoints me on two levels:
- It is not ‘Listed’ by Historic England
- It is sunk into the tarmac of the pavement
LA_CYPS03 & LA_CYPS04, which are also ‘Preston wedge’ type are listed. They are recorded as Listed Buildings on the National Heritage List for England (NHLE), which is maintained by Historic England. This type of inconsistency really rubs me up the wrong way…
For example LA_CYPS04 is listed as, “Milestone beside road outside No. 614 Preston Road” on the NHLE. Its listing can be seen on the Historic England website:
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1072446
Pondering it’s elevation, I was giving the people who had submerged it in tarmac the benefit of the doubt, as it has a benchmark on top. However, I am not really sure that has any relevance anymore. Could they just not have lifted it up a bit to maintain its previous level, if they wanted to rejig the pavement layout around there. It spoils it having the plate sat directly on the ground.
LA_CYPS07
National ID: LA_CYPS07
Old County: Lancashire
Record Origin: MSS
Status: Surveyed
Listed Grade: NOT Listed
Last Record: 2013
Road Number: B5258
Grid Reference: SD 55800 27730
District: South Ribble
Civil Parish: Bamber Bridge
General Location: Walton le Dale, B6230 junction
Position: against wall
Type: Milestone
Design: Preston wedge
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The Milestone Society
With regard to the reference numbers, such as LA_CYPS07, these are maintained by the Milestone Society (MSS). They have members all over the country who keep records of, look out for and tend to, old milestones. This work includes cleaning them, painting them and clearing foliage around them. Their databases also include records of other wayside markers, such as boundary stones, wayside crosses and finger posts.
Established in May 2001, the Milestone Society aims to “identify, record, research, conserve and interpret for public benefit the milestones and other way-markers of the British Isles”. Their members’ interests also include tollhouses, turnpike history and canal milestones. The Milestone Society obtained charitable status in 2004.
Since then, their members have recorded over thirty one thousand (31,000) milestones, other way-markers and tollhouses. The locations can be displayed from their database on Google Earth mapping with photographs linked to Geograph.org.uk. The Milestone Society’s collections also feature on the Heritage Gateway and other sites. Over the last quarter of a century, the Society has also amassed a vast quantity of images, articles and other material.
Visit the Milestone Society website: https://www.milestonesociety.co.uk/
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The LA_CYPS07 Milestone Location
Reviewing old Ordnance Survey maps, it has become apparent that the milestone has been move north from its original location. The oldest maps is from a survey that took place between 1844 and 1847 was published as Lancashire Sheet LXI by the Ordnance Survey in 1849. It was part of their OS Six-inch (to One mile) England and Wales series.
At this point, the milestone is further up the hill, to the south, from Hennel End.
Lancashire Sheet LXI, OS Six-inch England and Wales, Surveyed: 1844 to 1847, Published: 1849
Ordnance Survey Maps from the National Library of Scotland website:
Later, the milestone has moved to is current position. By the end of the nineteenth century a property named ‘Hillside’ had been built on Chorley Road Hill. The site was later occupied by the Vineyard Hotel and more recently a small gated community, also named the Vineyard. It doesn’t seem reasonable to have moved it so far when the Hillside property was built, as it could have been moved only a few feet to stop it clashing with the driveway position. I am wondering if it was deliberately position near to ‘Hennel End’ (Hennel Lane End) to make it more visible to people traveling from the west.
Lancashire Map Sheet LXI.15, OS 25 inch England and Wales, Revised: 1909, Published: 1911
Ordnance Survey Maps from the National Library of Scotland website:
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The WIGAN AND PRESTON (North of the Yarrow) TURNPIKE TRUST
The route on which the milestone is placed would have been originally maintained by the WIGAN AND PRESTON (North of the Yarrow) TRUST (Turnpike Trust). This later became part the A6, in this area. The road was more recently bypassed by the Bamber Bridge Bypass (London Way) and is now known as the B6258 (Chorley Road) in Walton le Dale. However, the Trust’s roads covered both the route of the A49, which terminates at Bamber Bridge, near Ye Olde Hob Inn, this being known as the ‘Lower Road’ and the road from Chorley, now the A6, was known as the ‘Higher Road’.
With regard to the WIGAN AND PRESTON (North of the Yarrow) TURNPIKE TRUST online, here are the most useful pointers and what they tell us:
- What it was: a division of the Wigan–Preston turnpike that administered the section north of the River Yarrow (often called the “Lower Road”, today broadly the A49 between Wigan–Standish–Coppull/Chorley/Leyland–Preston). [Leyland Historical Society]
- When it operated: records survive for the Wigan & Preston (North of Yarrow) Turnpike Trust covering 1823–1859 (that’s the span of surviving documents, not necessarily the whole life of the division). The wider Wigan–Preston trust originated earlier (an initial act in 1727 is noted for the south of the Yarrow division), and abolition of the trust was being discussed in local papers by February 24, 1877. [Discovery]
- How the trust was organised: contemporary local history notes that the Wigan–Preston Trust was split into two divisions, North and South of the Yarrow—with the North handling the Lower Road. [chorleyhistorysociety.co.uk]
- Physical evidence on the route: several milestones on/near the A49 carry plates explicitly inscribed to the “Wigan & Preston (north of Yarrow) turnpike trust.” (These are recorded in heritage inventories and by the Milestone Society.) [Heritage Gateway]
- Where to find archives:
- National Archives Discovery has an overview entry for the Wigan and Preston north of Yarrow Turnpike Trust and points to the holding repository. In practice, the Lancashire Archives catalogue (LANCAT) is the place to search for specific minutes, accounts, tollgate papers, etc.
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